U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in Sacramento Wednesday blasted California lawmakers as "open border radicals" and "extremists" for obstructing federal immigration efforts with a series of "sanctuary" state laws.

In a fiery speech before a group of California law enforcement officials, Sessions laid out his case for the lawsuit the Department of Justice filed Tuesday. It contests laws that prohibit law enforcement and employers from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

Those measures, Sessions said, threaten officer safety.

"Stop actively obstructing federal law enforcement," he said. "Stop protecting lawbreakers and giving law officers more dangerous work to do."

Gov. Jerry Brown quickly responded to Sessions in a joint news conference with state Attorney General Xavier Becerra, calling the lawsuit a "political stunt."

“This is really unprecedented for the chief law enforcement of the United States to come out to California and act more like Fox News than a law enforcement officer," Brown said. "This is a political stunt. It’s more like Fox News and what’s going on in Washington. And it’s not about the truth, it’s not about protecting our state. It’s about dividing America.”

Sessions in his address zeroed in on a recent incident in which the Oakland mayor gave advance notice of an ICE raid in the city.

"ICE failed to make 800 arrests," he said. "Those are 800 wanted criminals that ICE will now have to pursue by other means with more difficulty and in more dangerous situations. ... How dare you needlessly endanger the lives of our law enforcement officers to create a radical open borders agenda."

Sessions compared the so-called sanctuary state laws to a state demanding that its employers not cooperate with OSHA over workplace safety issues or the EPA over pollution.

California "is using every power it has to frustrate federal law enforcement, so you can be sure I will use every power the federal government has to fight that," Sessions said. "We intend to win this fight."

"I'm afraid this is an embarrassing time for the proud state of California," he said.

Several hundred protesters gathered outside in the streets chanting "fight white supremacy" and "no Sessions, no KKK" as security and police tried to keep people from entering the hotel where the attorney general spoke.

Mary Aye of Sacramento said she came out to protest Wednesday many of Trump's policies that seemed to target people of color.

"I feel the Trump administration is putting the rights of white males before the rights of women and people of color," said Aye, who carried a sign that said "Pass the Dream Act Now."

California Police Officer's Association President Marc Coopwood said Sessions' remarks clarified his position on SB54, the state law that established California as a sanctuary state and forbids local law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

"At the end of the day California law enforcement will always advocate for the tools we need to focus on keeping those who have committed crimes out of the communities we safeguard," Coopman said.

North State Congressman Doug LaMalfa said he supported Sessions and the Department of Justice's actions.

"The state of California is actively inhibiting the federal government from carrying out its authority to secure our borders. Constitutionally, states cannot obstruct enforcement of federal immigration law, and that’s exactly what Gov. Jerry Brown is doing. This endangers the public and undermines those who do things the right way and immigrate here legally," he said in a prepared statement. "Our local authorities need clarity and the legal ability to enforce the laws without fear of prosecution by the state. Whether Gov. Brown likes it or not, those that are here illegally are breaking the law, and California cannot prohibit ICE from doing their jobs and removing them from the country.”

LaMalfa said the cost to public safety is much greater and that people are demanding that immigration laws be upheld. He also noted that "resisting Trump seems to be the hip thing for California."

State Sen. Ted Gaines, whose district includes Shasta County, also defended Sessions, saying this is a fight to protect the Constitution.

"We should have this fight. . . . In my view it's taxpayer money well-spent," Gaines said. "We need to make sure we look out for the interests of Californians who are trying to raise a family, going to work. They shouldn't be fearful for their lives when they go to the grocery store and are picking up food. We have got to fight this fight."

Local officials in Ventura County’s agriculture industry had mixed reactions to the lawsuit and Sessions’ comments about AB 450’s impact on federal immigration enforcement.

Rob Roy, general counsel and president of the Ventura County Agricultural Association, said he was not surprised that a lawsuit had been filed over AB 450. But he wasn’t expecting it to come from the federal government.

“I understand the intent of that law. The intent is to protect the workers. The state has put themselves in position where they are interfering with enforcement rights. I was fully expecting some group of employers to file that lawsuit. I’m not surprised at the challenge,” Roy said.

For Danny Pereira, president of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, the lawsuit was just another example of the country’s lack of bipartisan cooperation.

Danny Pereira, president of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, said he was “frustrated” that elected officials could not come to an agreement on immigration reform and instead a lawsuit had to be filed.

“It’s just sad that it’s getting to this point,” Pereira said.

He said the immigrant workforce is a big part of not only the county’s farmworkers but the state’s as well. And currently, there’s a labor shortage.

“We need them just as much as they need us,” Pereira said.

But the rhetoric in Sessions’ speech was geared more toward illegal immigrants with a criminal history in the United States, which he does not equate with immigrant farmworkers.

“We just have a group of hardworking people who want to make a better life for themselves,” Pereira said.